Churchill Line to be Repaired

From Mike Spence / Town of Churchill

It's hard to believe, but a deal has been reached to sell the rail line to Churchill, and to repair it. I wasn't entirely sure this day would ever come!

Since the rail line washed out in numerous places in late May 2017, there have been many calls to the owner, Omnitrax, to repair the line. They commissioned an engineering survey and announced in July 2017 that it would cost a zillion dollars up to $60 million to repair the line. Since then, not much has happened.

Now, everything has changed.

A consortium of First Nations, Fairfax Financial Holdings, and AGT Limited Partnership - collectively called Arctic Gateway Group Limited Partnership - have purchased the railway line, the Port of Churchill and the marine terminal in Churchill from Omnitrax.

I have to assume that the entire Hudson Bay Railway is part of the deal, which would include the branch to Flin Flon as well as the main line between The Pas and Churchill.

I think it is very encouraging that two groups of First Nations and northern communities - One North and Missinippi Rail - are involved. This includes 30 First Nations, 11 non-First Nations communities in Manitoba, and seven Kivalliq communities in western Nunavut. Local ownership should encourage usage in ways that Denver-based Omnitrax couldn't envision.

Repairing the Churchill Line

There's no official word on who will be hired to repair the line. I've heard rumours but nothing has been announced yet. All reports say that repairs should begin immediately. Time is certainly running out!

Hopefully it will take a lot less than $60 million to open the line and get freight and passengers moving again. I imagine they could get the line open for freight before winter. It might take a long time for a freight to crawl over the line, but it's still a lot better than waiting for a ship!

Passenger Service to Resume?

The Gillam-Winnipeg train... hopefully soon the Churchill-Winnipeg train again?

It's very premature to speculate on when VIA Rail will resume service. I imagine they will do so as soon as it is safe to do so. You may recall they had to extract their stranded train by ship late in 2017.

VIA has been running one weekly train between Winnipeg and Gillam (VIA 692/693), as well as a train between The Pas and Gillam (VIA 690/691) and between Thompson and Gillam (VIA 694/695). They're doing the best they can, given that the track is impassable not far north of Gillam.

I'm sure railfans will be watching this closely... I'll be reporting on my Twitter feed and here when I can.

See Also

• All my Churchill blog posts
• Churchill rail line washed out
• Movement on the Churchill line? (September 2017!)

Movement on the Churchill Rail Line At Last?

View of Churchill from the 1960s. Photographer unknown.

There might be hope for the Churchill rail line after all. Maybe. It's been a busy week.

The Governments Speak

The federal government issued a press release today "formally demanding" that the Hudson Bay Railway (owned by Omnitrax) repair the railway line to Churchill, Manitoba. The government "is willing to look at all options" including seeking repayment of the $18.8 million it contributed in 2008, as well as "exploring the possibility of working with a new owner." (also CBC article)

Meanwhile, the provincial government is ready to spend $500 million over 10 years to support Churchill, although that would not go to rail repairs as that is a federal responsibility.

You may recall that Omnitrax held a press conference back in July to announce the findings of its engineering survey, and that it would cost up to $60 million to repair the line. Since then... nothing has happened.

The Alberta Connection

Earlier this week, a United Conservative Party leadership candidate, Jeff Callaway, suggested that Alberta should buy the port and rail line to be used to ship oil from Alberta. That was met with strong opposition from Churchill leaders.

The idea of shipping oil through Churchill was "floated" by Omnitrax a few years ago. By August 2014 the idea was dead (my blog post).

Given the relatively frequent derailments and inaccessibility of most of the rail line, an oil spill would be difficult to clean up and potentially disastrous for the environment. I'm not surprised by the opposition.

VIA Rail Extraction?

VIA Rail's train set continues to sit beside the station in Churchill. A day or two ago, there were rumours that VIA was going to ship the train out by barge.

The president of the local Chamber of Commerce, Dave Daley, said Tuesday that "the train isn't leaving here unless it's leaving by the tracks. Because we'll blockade it and we'll make it sure it doesn't leave." (Facebook post of a Winnipeg Free Press article)

It seems unlikely that the Port employees would permit such a move.

Incidentally, Omnitrax doesn't have any locomotives in Churchill. VIA is the only company with rail equipment there.

Summary

It's been a bit over 14 weeks since the rail line was severed by unprecedented flooding.

It has been so long that even the New York Times has weighed in with an article.

Time is running short for the construction / repair season.

We'll wait and see if anything happens in the next week or two!

Update

The two First Nations groups that were competing to buy the port of Churchill and rail line have agreed to merge. They sent a jointly signed letter to the Prime Minister's Office. This puts the ball in the PMO's court to approve the sale so Omnitrax can be done with the line, and the funding for repair can start.

See Also

• Rail Line to Churchill Severed
• Updates on Churchill Rail Line
• Facebook group "Save our Port"

Sixty Million to Churchill?

Omnitrax held a press briefing on Tuesday, July 18 to present the results of the study that they commissioned to assess the flood damage to the rail line from Gillam to Churchill, Manitoba. The costs are.. high.

The Study

AECOM Canada, the engineering company that did the study, estimates that the line could be fixed in 60 days starting on September 1, for a cost starting at $13 million that could climb to $60 million. EDIT: Link to study

The study says there are 13 bridges, 68 culverts and 31 washout areas that need to be repaired on the Hudson Bay Railway's Herchmer Subdivision's 183.7 railway miles (294 km) between Gillam and Churchill.

Omnitrax has stated that they don't have the money to fix it, and have called the line "a public utility" and they "believe there is a role for the public to play" in fixing the line.

Government Response

So far government response continues to be muted. The provincial government indicated it is looking to the federal government to lead. Meanwhile, the federal government indicates that Omnitrax has an obligation to repair the line.

Reports say that Omnitrax has received $20 million from the federal government over the past 5 years and Manitoba has contributed "millions". AECOM said that Omnitrax has spent $60 million on the line since 2009 to improve conditions, although this Financial Post article seems to call that figure into question.

A Deadline

Omnitrax stated that it has to have funding in place by August 1 to begin planning for the work to commence in September, and be completed within 60 days before it becomes too cold to work.

What Now?

There's no doubt that Omnitrax can't afford to fix the line. They are privately held, so their financials aren't available, but the estimate I found says the company's gross income is around $90-100 million USD. $60 million would be a tremendous burden. I assume they have some insurance to cover losses like this but nobody outside Omnitrax seems to know much about that. Many people are insisting that Omnitrax is holding the town of Churchill hostage for public funds.

As I said at the end of my last update, I still think the best course of action is for Omnitrax to immediately proceed with the sale it already negotiated, and then the federal and provincial governments can step in to pay for the repairs. It's clear that the governments are loath to contribute money to a private company - understandably - so Omnitrax has to be removed from the situation.

I can't see why Omnitrax would want to hold on to the line, except perhaps to get the best price for it. I have no doubt they are universally hated in Churchill, especially when they boosted the price of gas by 30 percent briefly last night.

So sell it already and let's get on with fixing the rail line and restoring service.

Updates on Churchill Rail Line

Omnitrax photo

Churchill has been in the news a lot since the rail line was severed near the end of May.

Churchill Suffering

Since the Hudson Bay Railway stopped delivering to Churchill, the only way to get goods into the town is by air, which drives transportation costs up. The community is starting to get desperate and prices have increased for groceries, fuel, building supplies and other materials.

The federal government implemented its Nutrition North food subsidy program to Churchill and continues to do so. Nutrition North subsidizes "a variety of perishable and nutritious food items" and "traditional food commercially processed". In my opinion, this is a good program to help get fresh goods to people in remote areas.

Fortunately for Churchill, it is not the heating season.. yet. There is a big concern about heating for the coming winter season, as Churchill does not have enough on-site storage for propane for the entire winter. The Manitoba government is reportedly "mulling" adding storage. Clearly materials are going to have to come in by ship or barge soon.

How Badly Damaged Is It?

Two motorcyclists from Colorado drove up the rail line recently and their photos have made quite an impact. Many say the damage doesn't appear to be as bad as Omnitrax has been saying, and there have been a lot of pressure put on the company to start work.

The photos clearly show a considerable amount of ballast that was washed away, with several sections of track hanging in the air. There are no photos of the bridges along the line and no photos of culverts or other track support structures.

Personally I don't hold a lot of faith with these photographs. It's easy to say that a few loads of ballast will fix things up, but the real costs are with bridges and culverts and there's no way to know from a few cell phone photos how much those are damaged. Dumping ballast may put the line in service for a short while but the next rain storm will break the line again.

Fixing the Line

So far no repairs have been made to the line. Omnitrax says it is waiting for an engineering report to be completed, while people are demanding that repairs start. Local First Nations groups have suggested that the "nearby" shortline Keewatin Railway Company could step in to fix the line. UPDATE: The KRC says they can do it for $2 million and finish in 45 days.

Omnitrax has not been communicative, which does not help.

Part of the problem with fixing the line is that it has to be done one break at a time. There are no parallel roads or paths that can be used to position materials at each location to be fixed. The repair crew would have to fix one break then move on to the next one.

It is possible they could repair it enough to be able to pass over, then leave some equipment and material behind to do a permanent fix as the next break is worked on.

I believe Omnitrax plans to do the work in the winter when the ground is frozen and they can move materials over the frozen ground. I also believe that this is too long to wait.

Time For a Road?

At least one person is calling for a road to Churchill. Marolo Alfaro, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Manitoba, worked on a highway in the Northwest Territories. The terrain is challenging - permafrost and muskeg being the primary concerns.

A road to Churchill was studied about 10 years ago as part of a Manitoba-Nunavut route, and it was considered "feasible" but no costs were estimated. My guess is that costs would likely be in the half a billion (with a "b") dollar range.

Maybe someday in the future a road might be a good idea, but that doesn't help Churchill now.

Why Hasn't Anything Been Done?

Omnitrax's position is that they are waiting for the engineering study before taking action. The federal government continues to subsidize groceries, as mentioned above. The provincial government has done very little of substance.

It is hard to know why no significant action has taken place yet. I imagine there is a lot of discussion behind the scenes, and perhaps something will appear in the next few days or weeks from different levels of government.

I believe the major complicating factor is that the line is owned by a private company. I believe the governments are reluctant to give a lot of money to a private company for repairs, especially since Omnitrax really wants to sell the line, and since many people believe Omnitrax has mismanaged the rail line and do not deserve any support.

What Should Be Done?

I believe that Omnitrax should sell their line to the local First Nations.. sooner rather than later. They have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding and they should get on with it. Alternately, they should sell it to the federal government.

This would allow the federal and provincial governments to step in to assist with repairs and get freight and passengers moving again (and help move that stranded VIA train).

Long term, governments have to expect that they will have to subsidize the rail line every year, forever. There can be no reasonable business plan that can expect this line to pay for itself... just like no road to Churchill could pay for itself.

The people of Churchill are waiting for action.

Update From the Premier

Manitoba premier Brian Pallister said the province plans to convert about 100 Manitoba Housing units to electric heat to reduce the need for propane heating in Churchill. Mike Spence, the mayor of Churchill, is unimpressed.

Thompson Freight Office Closed

On July 7 Omnitrax issued a statement that their freight centre in Thompson, Manitoba would be closed indefinitely. Since no traffic is going north, except perhaps a little to Gillam, it didn't make sense to keep the office open.

Rail Line to Churchill Severed

On May 30, rail service to Churchill, Manitoba was suspended - perhaps for months, if not indefinitely.

Hudson Bay Railway map
Affected area shown in red

The last freight train arrived on May 23 but nothing has come since, due to unprecedented flooding in the area. The Churchill River was flowing at just over 1,400 cubic metres/second at the end of June, versus about 600 cubic metres/second in April. Major blizzards in March didn't help the situation.

The owner of the railway between The Pas and Churchill, OmniTRAX, issued a statement on May 30 that the Hudson Bay Railway would not be operating between Gillam and Churchill due to "track and bridge damage.. caused by the spring thaw." This is the Herchmer subdivision.

On June 9 (Friday) OmniTRAX issued an update that said that "unprecedented and catastrophic" damage has occurred and the rail line is "not expected to resume operations before the winter season." The track bed is damaged in 19 locations and 5 bridges are known to be damaged, with an additional 30 bridges and 600 culverts to be inspected in the coming weeks to determine how much more damage has been caused. (CBC News) No doubt it will cost millions of dollars to repair.

What Now?

Hudson Bay Railway locomotive
in Winnipeg, Dec 2011

OmniTRAX has declared force majeure, which is a legal term that basically means they are unable to fulfill their common carrier duties due to circumstances beyond their control.

This is terrible news for Churchill and for communities north of Gillam. The rail line is the sole connection for many of them, since the only transportation into Churchill is by rail or by air.

Calm Air (a northern airline) and Gardewine (a regional ground transport company) have teamed up to provide some air-based freight service from Thompson, but this is very expensive in comparison to rail freight and will result in severe hardship for businesses and individuals in Churchill.

This also basically kills the tourist season for Churchill, as the majority of tourists come by rail using VIA 693 from Winnipeg. Businesses are already issuing layoff notices and no doubt more will be coming.

VIA Rail

Speaking of VIA Rail, there is a VIA Rail train stranded in Churchill, with VIA 6434 and "Canada 150" wrapped VIA 6402 parked at the station.

VIA 6434 and 6402 stranded in Churchill. Photos by Patricia Sinclair, used with permission.

VIA issued a travel advisory on June 6 that they will only be operating between Winnipeg and Gillam. Looking at their reservation system you can book a trip to Gillam as usual, but it fails when you try to book to Churchill.

I see there is a wye in Gillam so they should be able to turn VIA 693 on the wye and become VIA 692, rather than backing up.

For Sale?

This will obviously have an effect on OmniTRAX's attempts to sell the line. You may recall they were talking with a First Nations consortium, since named the Missinippi Rail Consortium, and in December OmniTRAX signed a Memorandum of Understanding with them.

On May 31 OmniTRAX and Missinippi signed a deal for $20 million. I imagine (hope) there are some contingencies because I doubt Missinippi wants to inherit this mess.

There is a rival group, One North, that was also vying to purchase the line.

Hope for the Best

Hopefully the engineering assessment underway now will find that the damage is not as bad as first imagined. It will be terrible if the line will not open until the winter, and I can't imagine that OmniTRAX is willing or able to shoulder the entire cost of the repairs, given the marginal economic value of the line as it is.

The people of Churchill and communities along the line between Gillam and Churchill will be enduring significant hardship while this line is out of service. I really feel for them.

More to come.

Updates on Churchill

There have been a few developments for the port of Churchill, Manitoba since it was abruptly closed in early August, and rail service to the area by Omnitrax was reduced from twice weekly to once a week.

Churchill has exported around 500,000 tonnes of grain per year for the past several years, but the looming expiry of the Port of Churchill Utilization Program (CPUP) subsidy of $12/tonne of grain doesn't help the the future of the port at all.

Cash Injection

The federal government has promised $4.6 million in economic development funds to the town to help find other sources of jobs beyond the port. The funds are coming through Western Economic Diversification Canada, a government agency I'd never heard of before (they employ about 300 people and have a budget of about $155 million).

The government intends for local groups to identify projects to use the $4.6 million to generate jobs in the local economy. It appears that this may not be the only incentive coming from the federal government, as they indicated they have an "open door policy" and "in the long term are open to any ideas."

Support from the Province

The Manitoba provincial government has been low key on the Churchill port closure, and the reduction of railway service.

Ministers have travelled to Churchill, and the province announced a mild increase in support for tourism in the area. The major funding announcement from the province was a previously-planned $9 million marine observatory in partnership with the University of Manitoba.

Local Ownership

A consortium of First Nations has indicated a strong interest in acquiring the port and rail line. Arlen Dumas, chief of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, has indicated that the consortium has been talking with Omnitrax, the Denver-based owners of the port and railway.

These discussions have been reported on before in the media, so it's uncertain how serious they really are.

Nationalize?

The union representing Churchill port workers, the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, is calling on the federal government to create a port authority, similar to Saguenay, QC and Thunder Bay, ON.

The union has the support of local MP Niki Ashton, Honourable Member for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski. She is coincidentally the NDP critic for "Jobs, Employment and Workforce Development", which seems ideal for Churchill job stimulation.

Ms. Ashton has a petition on her web site that visitors are invited to sign online or download a copy to mail to her office.

#SupportOurPort

There's a Twitter hashtag, #SupportOurPort, that was used in the summer to mark tweets about the port and the railway to Churchill. It hasn't seen much use recently.

What's Old is New Again

I was reading an old Branchline magazine from March 1987, and noted a news item where a former Transport Minister, Otto Lang, was stating that shipping grain through Churchill "is a costly mistake." Back in 1986, CN moved 608,000 tonnes of grain through Churchill, which was only 2% of Canada's grain exports.

See Also

• Doubly bad news for Churchill

Doubly Bad News for Churchill

One

On Monday, the Port of Churchill handed layoff notices to approximately 50 of its workers and gave notice that it will not be shipping any more grain this year. This effectively shuts the port down, although reports indicate that it will be officially open until August 6th.

Omnitrax, based in Denver, owns both the port and the Hudson Bay Railway that serves the port and other northern communities.

Two

On Tuesday, one of the major shippers to the north, Gardewine North, was informed that the Hudson Bay Railway will be cutting their service in half and only running one freight train per week.

Gardewine North truck trailer on flatcar, Thompson, MB

Churchill and many other communities are not accessible by road and therefore depend on the railway for supplies. The alternative is flying supplies in, but this is very expensive and you can't bring in bulk fuel by airplane very easily!

You may recall that the railway and port were both put up for sale in December. Soon afterward a group of First Nations sent a letter of intent to purchase the line, but apparently this has fallen through.

There's more bad news for the Hudson Bay Railway with the announced closure of the Tolko kraft mill in The Pas, Manitoba..

EDIT: also apparently someone set one of their (dormant) locomotives on fire.

What To Do?

It's difficult to know what to do.

Churchill is not required as a grain port as grain is normally shipped to Vancouver and Thunder Bay and both have recently expanded their facilities. With climate change and the thawing of the Northern Passage there is a possibility of increased shipping in the far north. Churchill is the only rail-accessible deep-water Arctic port in Canada and it has some strategic importance.

However, it is losing money and the railway is expensive and difficult to maintain. Omnitrax wants out and I can't see CN stepping in to buy the line back.

I think the only chance to save the port and/or railway is for the federal government to resume subsidies. The current Churchill Port Utilisation Program is set to end after the 2016 shipping season.

One alternative is for the federal government to acquire the port again. The mayor of Churchill is calling for this.

We shall see what happens in the next week or two. Omnitrax has said nothing so far but no doubt the pressure is increasing on them to make a statement. Manitoba's premier has called this move "leveraging on the fears and hopes and the security of Manitobans".

UPDATE: Omnitrax responded to some of CBC's questions. Lots of finger-pointing on all sides.

Is it time to consider building a road all the way to Churchill?

10 Questions for Mark Zulkoskey

Railroad magazine used to have a regular feature highlighting an "Interesting Railfan". I thought I would run a similar series with some railfans who have agreed to participate. I'm asking each railfan 10 questions, some standard and some customized for the particular person. I hope you enjoy it. (See all in the series)

Mark (L) with his father at the
Grey Cup Train, 2012

Mark Zulkoskey is a railfan living in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. We've never met but I've enjoyed and envied his photos on Saskatchewan Railways. He graciously agreed to answer my 10 questions.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a registered social worker living in the Central Saskatchewan city of Prince Albert, which also conveniently, was my place of birth. I always vowed to move but the prairie has oddly grown on me. I work as a Cognitive Disability Consultant for two health regions which has the added bonus of a lot of travel. I married the lady who has tolerated my obsession with trains for the last five years this summer. Of course we married at the Wetaskiwin Railway Museum and believe or not it was her idea and not mine! The running joke that day was that I preferred to ride with the engineer in the RS23 rather than with my bride. I have a 6 year old step son who I have worked to indoctrinate into the world of rail. 

I quickly mention a funny story that proves my relationship with my wife is destined to last. Back in 2012 we were enroute to Saskatoon for her birthday supper. My wife’s birthday is in late March and we tend to get our worst blizzards then. I decided it would be a good idea to photograph some trains first. I roared down a back road, bouncing on the snow drifts until we were stuck. Two stuck tow trucks and six hours later we were out. Strangely enough it provided some good bonding time. Frankly if she didn’t leave me for that injustice, I don’t think she will now…

The Hudson Bay Railway, The Pas, MB, 2014

2. Why do you like trains?

My father used me as his launch pad into trains and I guess I followed suit. Much of my early childhood consisted of chasing CN GMD1s and CPR RS23s out to the local pulp mill or off onto the 60lb branchlines that surrounded my hometown. I started shooting trains with a bright blue Fisher Price camera that took 110 film. Summer day trips to all corners of Saskatchewan cemented my love in the prairie hinterland, rail and grain elevators.  My father often said he would use me, with my little train hat plopped onto my head, to gain access to rail yards and to get the occasional ride. My first ride was on a pair of GMD1s and one of my fondest moments of my childhood.

I was bullied in grade 6 and some of that came out of my interest in trains. I stopped railfanning almost overnight, but the call of the haunting whistle late at midnight called me back. When I turned twenty I returned to my early love, perhaps for the nostalgia but also inadvertently because my new found appreciation of our vanishing grain elevators coincided with railroad branchlines. It has all been downhill since then.

3. Where’s your favourite place to railfan?

Alaska Rail north bound empty coal train
in Chugach State Park, Alaska

This past summer I had the opportunity to railfan Alaska Rail on my honeymoon. The rail carved through the mountains, presenting spectacular photographic opportunities.

And yet at the end of the day I still find myself traipsing through farmer’s fields, flying down dusty back roads and returning to the same small town motels of Saskatchewan.

The prairies are a photographic challenge. Bald prairie challenges the photographic eye and forces me to reevaluate my shots. The rail network of Saskatchewan also continues to be rather extensive. The vast array of shortlines helps keep some diversity in my shots and it isn’t uncommon to photograph four or five railways in one day. A few places of notable mention are the hills east of Biggar, the badlands near Eastend, the CNR bridge in Prince Albert and the CPR line to Nipawin.

Carlton Trail GP10s, summer 2015. Note 1004 & 1064 have since been retired.

4. If you could railfan anywhere, anytime, where and when would it be?

Definitely sometime in the 1960s or 1970s anywhere in North America. For me this was the golden age of rail and the pathetic demise of Alco. Canadian rail would still be slugging along with CLC locos and MLW would still be churning out smoke spewing locos. I’d love to shoot Southern Ontario or my mother’s home town in Northern Ontario on the ONR. Plus the convenience of passenger travel wouldn’t hinder my ability to reach many communities across the country.

5. What’s your favourite railway?

CN has been the stalwart railway of choice recently given their frequency and array of motive power; but I don’t think I’d classify them as a favorite. Great Western’s colourful power, M420s and the rolling hills of the south would probably throw them into the ring of favorite railways. Rather than quantifying a favorite list, I’d probably opt to shoot the shortlines that dot the prairies. 

CN east of Biggar, SK in 2014

6. What do you use to edit your photos?

Typically Lightroom 4 or Photomatix  Pro 5 if I’m shooting in HDR. I used to manipulate with Photoshop for fun occasionally but I haven’t had the time for that in a few years. I’ve gradually upgraded my gear over the last few years and I really started focusing on post production when I started shooting RAW in 2013.

7. What do you aspire to be shooting in five years?

I really want to focus on capturing the prairie spirit in my pictures over the next few years. I want to capture that elusive dream in my shots, the dream that so many immigrants had as they settled on the prairies (think Hearts Hill or Bents, SK). The prairie spirit is alive and well in so many communities today, through the local co-op branches to the cooperative programs that have kept the rail lines busy with producer cars. That’s what I want to be shooting.  Of course I want to continue to travel and while my family will be growing in the next few years, I hope to make it out to the Maritimes, Quebec and the Rockies. 

8. Where do you share your photos?

Typically on Facebook book through my Saskatchewan Railways page or on RailsMBSK.

9. What projects do you have on the go?

My father and I are in the process of building a switching layout for future hobby shows. The rest of my stuff is gathering dust until I can move into a larger home. I’m currently working on painting and decaling my HBR GP40-2(W).

CTRW 2015, Mark's third GP10 for Carlton Trail

I’m buying a new camera in the spring, so I’m looking forward for a few photo runs this summer in Saskatchewan and Alberta and perhaps Manitoba. My long term photography project is to photograph every remaining grain elevator in Saskatchewan. This began in 2009 on a road trip to North Battleford. I was stopped in Leask and noticed the two lonely elevators. I remembered long trips to Alberta as a child, watching the rows of colourful elevators pass me by and how so many have now turned to dust. I started with a point and shoot and the magic of Google Maps and slowly made progress. Of course my perfectionism has caused me to do more than the one re-shoot. As of Jan 1, 2016 I have photographed 482 Sask elevators in 364 communities across the vapid prairie. I now only have 12 elevators left on my list to photograph!

10. Go Riders?

Actually I’m not much of a football fan and I’m sure that will raise the eyebrows of a few Sask railfans. I’m more of a hockey guy, so go WHL Prince Albert Raiders! (at least they're green - Steve)

Thanks, Mark!

To see more of Mark's work, visit the Saskatchewan Railways Facebook community.

More 10 Questions posts

Hudson Bay Railway For Sale

The Hudson Bay Railway in Thompson, MB

The CBC is reporting that Omnitrax is going to put their Churchill railway line (the Hudson Bay Railway) and the Port of Churchill up for sale. The president of Omnitrax Canada, Merv Tweed, has stated that the port and rail line will be sold together.

A sharp decline in grain shipments this year, and "expressions of interest on it in the last three to six months" led to the decision to put the pair on the market.

OmniTrax bought the railway line between The Pas and Churchill in 1997, the same year that they purchased the Port of Churchill. The line spans 627 miles and the Hudson Bay Railway interchanges with CN at The Pas and with the Keewatin Railway Company at Sherritt Junction.

VIA Rail's Winnipeg-Churchill train operates over the Hudson Bay Railway between The Pas and Churchill.

VIA Rail's Churchill train in Thompson, Manitoba

It remains to be seen if this is a serious attempt to sell the line/port, or a tactic to gain more government funding of the line or port. To me, this quote from Mr. Tweed is particularly telling: "If governments want that [the railway as a social service to the north] to continue, which I believe they do, then I believe they should be a participant in the costs of that and we've explained that very clearly to them. We've shown them the costs of doing business in the north and we hope they respond."

• CBC article
• Western Producer article
• Manitoba Cooperator article
• David J Gagnon post on the history of the Hudson Bay Railway

UPDATE: The port and rail line have been tentatively sold to a group of First Nations, who are looking for government assistance.

Hudson Bay Railway to Re-Open

HBRY 3001 in Thompson, Manitoba

After a derailment on June 3, the Hudson Bay Railway closed the rail line between Gillam and Churchill. Omnitrax, the owner-operator of the line (and the port of Churchill), said that permafrost had damaged the line and they were making repairs and hope to re-open within the first week of July. They had briefly re-opened the line to freight service but had to suspend it again.

VIA Rail in Thompson, Manitoba

VIA Rail last sent a train to Churchill on May 30. The company said they will not send VIA 692/693 over the line until they are satisfied that it is safe for passengers. In the meantime, passengers intending to use the train have had to find alternate arrangements (aka "fly").

This closure has really impacted the people of Churchill, as they depend on the railway for the majority of shipments into the town. The only alternative is to fly fuel, food and other supplies in at a greatly increased cost. Hopefully the line will be re-opened when Omnitrax says it will.

This might really make people question whether they should still be considering shipping oil by rail.

UPDATE: OmnitraxNorth.ca has posted an update.

Bakken Crude By Rail? Under Review

In the wake of the Lac-Mégantic disaster, many people have many questions. People are asking what traffic rolls through their communities, agencies are reviewing emergency response plans, people are wondering whether rail or pipeline transport is safer, new regulations were rushed out, and even the Canadian Senate was involved.

Omnitrax
In August, Omnitrax Inc., owner of the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill, announced they were planning a test shipment of oil to Churchill for export. The plan was to ship 330,000 barrels* of oil to Churchill for loading on a tanker. About $2 million in upgrades to port facilities were required to increase the pumping capacity there.

Groups have come out in opposition to this plan, including the Wilderness Council and the province of Manitoba. This is natural, considering what happened in Lac-Mégantic. One has to consider a few points, though:

• the Hudson Bay Railway is already shipping light petroleum products (gasoline and diesel) to Churchill;
• the Hudson Bay Railway has had reportable accidents every year from 2003 to 2012;
• emergency response to a spill on the line could be very difficult as much of the line is in very remote areas.

I just don't know whether it is a good idea or not. The railway needs the traffic but I think they need to provide some convincing assurances that it will be transported safely.

Irving Oil
The CBC is reporting that Irving Oil is shifting "away from rail to transport crude" and will be doubling the amount of oil they will be receiving by barge from Albany, NY. Currently they are receiving a shipload of oil from Albany via the tanker Afrodite every 8 days, and the article says this will double shortly with another ship being added to the route.

The article is very misleading as it does not ask how the oil gets to Albany. Very likely it is being shipped by rail in the United States.

Quotation
Incidentally, I was quoted recently in the Portland Press Herald in regard to idle tank cars in Maine.

* there is some confusion about whether the plan was for 330,000 barrels or gallons. Personally I can't imagine it was gallons because that's about 10 tank cars and hardly worth mentioning.

Activity in Thompson!

I mentioned in my last post about Thompson that Wednesday (March 7) was a busy time in the train yard.

First thing in the morning, this engine was at the north end of the yard.


HBRY 3001 is obviously an ex-CN unit, based on the sergeant stripes. It's a GP40-2LW. I didn't have time in the morning to do more than take this shot... oh, and this shot of caboose HBRY 79851.


It was coupled to a boxcar and some trailers-on-flatcars.

At noon I went back to the yard because I knew the VIA train should be there. Little did I know there were... *two* VIA trains.


I *think* this was VIA 692 from Churchill. It was backed right up to the south end of the yard. It was the standard length, two engines, baggage car, two coaches, diner, and Chateau car.

As I watched, Château Verchères was backing up on the same track.


They pulled up to within a couple of car lengths of VIA 6405, then the step boxes came out and passengers disembarked.

I walked the length of the first train to get the full consist and then did the same with the newly-arrived train. Here's its consist.


VIA 6409 was the lead engine on that train.


They had seen a fair bit of snow and ice on their trip...


I didn't have time to hang around (again) but it was nice to see those trains there... given that I've seen them often enough in Winnipeg.

I came back late in the day and HBRY 3001 was still there, down by the yard office and coupled up to the caboose and a few cars.


The light was failing and I had to go (story of my life) so that was the end of my train day in Thompson. I'm glad I saw what I did!

Thompson, Manitoba

I was in Thompson, Manitoba last week, and saw a glimpse of the Hudson Bay Railway. Thompson is at mile 30.5 of the Thompson subdivision off the main Hudson Bay Railway line from The Pas to Churchill. VIA Rail's trains 692 and 693 (ex-Hudson Bay) have to back up in one direction because there are no turning facilities in Thompson large enough. If you've seen my photos or video of the Hudson Bay you may have noticed a large light in the rear of the last car... exactly for this reason. There is a wye at "WINGATE" just outside Thompson but the curvature is too sharp for passenger cars.

The rail line comes from the east into Thompson and the yard is oriented more or less north-south, although it slants more like NNE to SSW. The VIA Rail station is at the south end.


Looking toward the rest of the yard:


Pretty empty! At the north end of the yard, there is a small yard office, a couple of loading platforms for flatcars and a variety of rolling stock. An ex-CN snowplow HBRY 55376 was on a back track.


The Hudson Bay Railway owns a fair bit of its own rolling stock. There are a number of boxcars like this long boxcar, HBRY 73680.


Both that boxcar and HBRY 446589 below are obviously ex-CN. 446589 was built in March 1957.


I had no idea that the Hudson Bay Railway offered trailer-on-flatcar (TOFC) service, but here it is. I saw Gardewine North trailers being loaded onto these HBRY flatcars.
 

There were regular flatcars and bulkhead flatcars in the yard as well, all lettered for the Hudson Bay Railway. I saw tank cars there too, lettered and labeled for private tank car fleets.

The major freight customer in Thompson is the nickel mine at Vale (formerly Inco). They receive some chemicals via tank cars, as well as ore from the Voisey's Bay deposit in Labrador. The ore is coming to Sudbury and to Thompson because the processing facility in Labrador is not scheduled to come online until 2013 according to Vale. I don't know Vale ships the finished nickel out by rail or not.

Vale has a Titan railcar mover (PDF) to shuffle cars around, and it looks like they interchange with the Hudson Bay Railway at the end of the HBRY yard. At one time Vale had a narrow gauge G8 and up to three RS-18s according to Colin Churcher, but they were all sold in the 1990s.

Esso and Petro-Canada both have facilities near the yard to take fuel from tank cars.

Tuesday was very quiet there but Wednesday was a beehive of activity. I'll describe that in another post.

Canadian Sunrise

I stumbled across this video by Dormitator1 of VIA 693 (the Hudson Bay) idling in The Pas, Manitoba. Check out the car on the end of the train!


Anyone have any information on this car? I see Canadian Sunrise is numbered HBRY 800576.

Hudson Bay Railway In Town

I'm late posting about this, but better late than never, right? Am I right?

I did a bit of Christmas shopping on December 7 and I ended up downtown at the Forks in Winnipeg. I took a few photos for my Google+ account, and while I was doing that, I heard the rumble of a freight train. CN 2583 led an eastbound freight over the Red River and I shot it against the sun.

Not my best work! The light was very challenging, to say the least. CN 8800 was the trailing unit.

After that, I headed toward Symington Yard. I had heard that a Hudson Bay Railway engine was parked by the shops, and I did see it on the night of the CP Holiday Train. I took a few photos then but they were not good.

This time, the light was much better and I captured the engines from the side of Lagimodiere Boulevard with my 75-300mm lens.


The three are HBRY 2506, HLCX 3815 and HLCX 3841. The last two are from Helm Financial and are clearly of Southern Pacific lineage, by the colour scheme.

Here's a closeup of HBRY 2506, lettered for the Central Kansas Railway. It's a GP20.


I don't get the logic of showing "HBR" and "Central Kansas Railway" together... maybe Omnitrax knows the reason why. The Central Kansas Railway is defunct and the line was purchased by Watco.

While I was shooting those, who should show up but CN 2583 again, running around Symington Yard on the loop track with CN 8800.


The Hudson Bay units are gone now, so I was glad to capture them when I could.

Hudson Bay Railway Locomotives

Dormitator1 posted a walk-about video showing some Hudson Bay Railway locomotives. Normally I dislike this kind of video, where the videographer moves but the locos don't, but the subject matter is interesting enough to make it worthwhile. Of special interest to me was a glimpse of OSS 3757 at about 1:15 in the video. 3757 is ex-NBSR 3757, a GP9E.